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You might think, with the dawn of 2022, that frank talk about mental health is as common as passing the butter at the dinner table. And in truth, we’ve come a long way from the days of denial and labeling people with psychological challenges as damaged goods. But for the average African American, acknowledging that your emotional, psychological, and social well-being is affecting your everyday life is still very taboo, especially for Black men.

There are many layers as to why African American men disproportionally suffer quietly from mental illness but a lot of it can be attributed to equity issues and racism, suggests Edwin C. Chapman, M.D., an internist specializing in addiction medicine at the Black Mental Health Alliance, a collaboration of doctors and experts dedicated to the wellness of Black people, located in Baltimore, MD. If you want to get to the root of the issue, this phenomenon of Black men suffering silently with mental illness “comes from a history of slavery, segregation, and the Jim Crow era,” says Dr. Chapman.

“[Black men] were always taught to not let people see them suffering, so we hide it, internalize it, and don’t talk about it,” says Dr. Chapman. “It comes from a long tradition of oppression and as a result of that, anxiety and depression, which is often misinterpreted in our community as a sign of weakness. Denial is really a defense mechanism and [a way] to hide that hurt.”

In the past few years, a growing effort has been made by Black male athletes, artists, and celebrities to come forward and speak openly about their mental health struggles. The hope: By being candid about their situations, it may reduce the stigma and give other Black men the confidence to do the same. It’s a step in the right direction, say experts, but more needs to be done.

Read more at HealthCentral.com.

When Machelle Jordan joined the Navy in 1996, she quickly rose through the ranks and was sent on top secret missions to just about every country surrounding the Persian Gulf.

“I was a very motivated sailor. I knew what I wanted,” said Jordan, who now lives in Sandwich.

And while she reached pinnacles of success, becoming a Middle East analyst, fluent in Arabic and Farsi, she said she and other women came away from the military with post-traumatic stress disorder connected to experiences during combat operations, military sexual trauma, and feelings of isolation.

In 1999, Jordan was sexually assaulted by a shipmate during her first deployment. And while she was viewed as strong, capable, and in control by her counterparts, she said the trauma from the assault affected her throughout her military career.

“There was no time to feel sorry for myself,” she said during a recent interview. “I had to compartmentalize and get through it.”

Many women in the military and military spouses face a range of struggles and challenges, said Nicole Spencer, executive director of Heroes in Transition, an organization that provides assistance to veterans, service members, and their families.

This is why Marie Bartram, owner of All 4 Healing Wellness Center, and Sheryll Reichwein, an author, created “Reboot,” a six-week program that helps female veterans, active duty members, and military spouses build resilience, foster health, and well-being, and create routines for sustainable self-care.

Read more at CapeCodTimes.com.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, FBI data shows that people of Asian descent increasingly have been targets of racially motivated attacks.

“Hate crimes have spilled over to affect the community in dramatic ways. People feel scapegoated and blamed for the pandemic,” said Dr. Howard Kyongju Koh, the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

That has fueled a rise in anxiety and depression in a population that is already one of the least likely to access much-needed mental health services, according to the nonprofit Mental Health America.

Koh, who is a former U.S. assistant secretary for health and of Korean descent, has written extensively about racially motivated violence against Asian Americans and its health consequences. A recent article he co-wrote in the journal Health Affairs cites national polls from 2020 and 2021 in which more than a third of Asian adults in the U.S. said their mental health worsened during the pandemic, with 58% saying reports of violence against other Asian people affected their mental health.

In 2019, just 9%-10% of U.S. adults of Asian descent reported mental health issues, according to federal statistics. A 2021 survey by the Asian American Psychological Association showed the level at more than 40% since the arrival of COVID-19. Among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults in the AAPA survey, 38% reported symptoms of depression or anxiety.

But according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health, Asian Americans are 60% less likely and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders three times less likely to receive mental health services than their white peers. When they do seek help, according to the AAPA, they face challenges: 62% of Asian Americans and 41% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders diagnosed with mental health conditions said they needed assistance accessing care.

Read more at Heart.org.

September 15 marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. This celebration was first established as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under former President Lyndon B. Johnson and was extended to a full month in 1988 by former President Ronald Regan. Unlike many other monthly observed celebrations, Hispanic Heritage Month starts on the 15th of September and ends on the 15th of October.

In addition to celebrating important moments in the Hispanic and the Latinx community, this observance also helps open the conversation about various experiences that this demographic faces. Mental health is one of the areas that require more attention. Data from behavioral psychologists estimate that around 34% of Hispanic/Latinx adults with mental illness receive treatment each year. A recent study done by SAMHSA found that individuals who identified as Hispanic/Latinx saw a sharp increase of depression and suicidal ideation between the age range of 18 and 25. Contrastingly individuals 50 years and older saw a significant decline in the same areas.

Even when many Hispanic and Latinx citizens settle into American society, they often face a new set of difficulties. The language barrier is one of the most blatant disconnects. In the Mental health arena, a common miscommunication occurs when Hispanic/Latinx clients express experiencing nervios, a form of depression. Health professionals who are not familiar with Hispanic languages, in some cases, misdiagnose clients with lesser conditions.

Read more at RiversofHopeCounseling.com.

In order to highlight pockets of excellence across the country, the NNED selects a partner organization to highlight once a month. Riverside Recovery Resources has been selected as the Partner of the Month for September in recognition of National Recovery Month.

Riverside Recovery Resources (RRR) was founded in 1985 in Riverside, California, and was incorporated on July 1, 1986. The organization’s first program was a six-bed men’s residential recovery program. Since its humble beginnings, RRR has grown to become one of the largest non-profit recovery service providers in Riverside County. Today RRR provides alcohol and other drug recovery services to nearly all Western Riverside County communities with a dedicated, certified, and well-trained staff.

Some of the programs and services that are currently offered:

• Relapse Prevention
• Recovery Planning
• Life Skills Training
• Anger Management Classes
• Employment Skills Training
• DUI Classes

Learn more about Riverside Recovery Resources and its mission to provide comprehensive outpatient treatment and aftercare programs for all adults seeking recovery from addiction.

View a list of previous NNED Partners of the Month.

As a young girl growing up on the south side of Puerto Rico, Rosario Costas-Muñiz, PhD, felt a calling to help people with the mental health side effects of a cancer diagnosis. Today, she is a psycho-oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She focuses on the mental health needs of people diagnosed with cancer within the Latino community.

Cancer affected many members of her close-knit family. One of her grandfathers was diagnosed with prostate cancer, her grandmothers both died from breast cancer, and her mother was also diagnosed with the disease. Her father was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 50, when Dr. Costas-Muñiz was just 10 years old.

Despite her young age, Dr. Costas-Muñiz was struck by the cancer disparities that existed for people who lived, as her family did, in an area with limited healthcare resources. She watched as family members and others in her community struggled to get access to comprehensive cancer care following a diagnosis.

She also saw the ways people changed after a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Someone’s mood and character could change. They might experience depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions. Family members were sometimes negatively affected by the increased emotional and mental load of the cancer experience and caregiving.

Decades later, these disparities still exist and Dr. Costas-Muñiz is on a mission to help overcome them.

Read more at MSKCC.org.